Dancer bares all in new series

For a decade she was in the public eye as one of the Royal Ballet's principal dancers.

But when she bowed out last summer there were whispers in the dance world that stage fright had got the better of her.

Now, in a new TV series for BBC2, Deborah Bull shows she is anything but self-conscious.

In The Dancer's Body, Ms Bull, 39, has allowed herself to be captured naked but for a veneer of body paint which etches the detail of her muscle structure onto her skin.

Many might think posing undressed would be uncomfortable for the ballerina.

But having to spend 10 hours having her arm and leg decorated by make-up artist Sarah Berry was probably more testing.

Ms Bull said: "To be honest, I'm a professional dancer and I didn't really think about it that much."

The Dancer's Body, which was written by Ms Bull in conjunction with the BBC's former dance programmes executive Bob Lockyer, attempts to shed light on how the body and mind work together in dance.

"I've always been fascinated by the facts about dancing, rather than the myths," said Ms Bull. "The dancer's body is a human body. People who watch the series will learn about what the body is capable of. The series has provided a wonderful opportunity for me to investigate the questions I've always wanted to answer about an art form I've practised for so long.

"It has allowed me to take a long, hard look at how dancers do the seemingly impossible - and how audiences read so much into what they see."

Ms Bull, who has admitted she had an eating disorder in the past, said that although the programme was not about health or weight, it had helped her gain perspective on these issues.

"When I was younger I was under pressure to put myself into situations which weren't that healthy and did some fairly mad things to stay thin," she said. "I think exercise is absolutely crucial for dancers to remain at a healthy weight without doing damage to themselves."

In the past two to three years, leading up to and following her departure from the Royal Ballet, Ms Bull has been exercising her talents in other directions with books, newspaper articles and TV journalism, which she wants to continue.